Chapter Fifty Five: I Hate The Man You’ve Become

But Andrei, two years older, had always been the leader, the protector. He could still remember six-year-old Viktor panting as he struggled through the snowy two miles to school. Wait for me, Volodya! Wait for me!

But he’d never waited. If you want to follow me, keep up, Viktor . Stop being slow.Now, as Andrei remembered that long-lost adoration in his brother’s eyes, his heart gave a strange, sickening jump in his chest. Tightening his jaw, he pushed the memory away. He looked at Illyra.

“No one will ever threaten you or yours again.”

Her lips parted. “What will you do?”

He narrowed his eyes. “They threatened to break a child’s legs,” he said roughly. “So I’ll break every bone in their bodies. First their legs. Then their arms. Then—”

“Who are you?” she cried.

He stopped, surprised at the horror on her face. “What?”

“You’re so ruthless.” She swallowed. “There is no mercy in you. It’s true what they say.”

“You expect me to, what—give them a cookie and tuck them into bed?”

“No, but—” s